From the Farmhouse Table: March 2021

Spring is in the Air

The daffodils and crocuses are starting to poke above ground, startling the winter-hued landscape with bright yellows and purples. The breeze feels a touch warmer. The trees and wildlife seem poised to reupholster the forest, grasslands and marsh with their ravishing new imaginings. Spring is in the air!

This week also marks a kind of Spring for Hedgebrook. Kimberly A.C. Wilson started Monday as our new Executive Director. With her remarkable gifts and experience, she will no doubt bring to life ideas, perspectives and strategies that will enrich Hedgebrook’s community here and abroad for years to come.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be working closely with Kimberly to ensure she feels fully supported in this transition. I’m excited to have the opportunity to introduce her to our friends and supporters here on Whidbey this Sunday, March 7th -- the day before International Women’s Day no less! We’ll be at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA) for the screening of “The Glorias.” The film’s screenplay was co-written by Hedgebrook alumna, Sarah Ruhl, and is of course about one of our most famous alumnae, Gloria Steinem.

Another major sign of Spring is our upcoming annual fundraiser, Equivox. The festivities will take place virtually on Sunday, March 21st at 11:00 am Pacific. A number of our truly extraordinary alumnae will join us live during the program, as well as our Board President, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, and Kimberly. Please register now and get your mimosas (and credit cards) ready!

New beginnings of course always mean that other things are ending. And this month marks the end of my tenure as Interim Executive Director of Hedgebrook. Though this past year was exponentially more challenging than any of us could have anticipated, I’m truly grateful to have worked with many exceptionally inspiring and gifted Board members, staff, writers, donors and community members to help steer this organization through some very rough waters to calmer, more promising seas. I will continue to champion Hedgebrook’s critically important mission in other ways now and very much look forward to celebrating many more women authoring change in the coming months and years!

-Elise Miller, Interim Executive Director